Sofia Micale
Pronouns: she/her
Research Mentor(s): Micaela Rodriguez
Research Mentor School/College/Department: Department of Psychology / LSA
Program: CG
Session: Session 5 (2:40pm – 3:30pm)
Authors:
Abstract
Prior research has suggested that use of emotion regulation strategies, feelings of purpose in life, and religiosity are related to positive emotional wellbeing. However, do these trait-level variables similarly predict emotional experiences in daily life? This project addresses this question by leveraging an experience sampling dataset (N = 145 young adults aged 18-30). The dataset includes participants’ general use of two emotion regulation strategies (i.e., cognitive reappraisal, which tends to be adaptive, and brooding, which tends to be maladaptive) and meaning-making (i.e., feelings of purpose in life and religiosity/spirituality). The dataset also surveyed participants’ momentary emotional states–specifically, feelings of contentment, gratitude, stress, rumination, and positive/negative mood–five times a day for two weeks. Via a series of correlations, I will examine the extent to which emotion regulation and meaning-making strategies predict average levels of aforementioned emotional states. I predict that participants who report greater use of cognitive reappraisal, lower use of brooding, greater life purpose, and greater religiosity/spirituality will trend towards greater positive emotional experiences (and lower negative experiences) in everyday life.
